The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1887-09-01
A HISTORY NEEDED.
HON. ALFRED NJ. WADDELL'S
LETTER..

HON. ALFRED NJ. WADDELL'S
| LETTER.
Calling Attention to the Latest Pub
| ished Libel on Norsh CarolInians
| Under the Guise of History-GiI-
| more's Last Book.
| Cor. Raleigh Neps and O5sarper
IF the people of North Carolina de-
| sire to fully realize the result of their
neglect in regard to heir own history,
[ beg leave to call their attention to
! the very latest illustration of it.
Mr.. James r. Gilmore Edmund
Karke) has within the last few months,
published book entitled "John Sew
ier as a Commonwealth Builder" Cd.
Appleton & Co., 1880 as sequel to
his previous work "The Rear Guard
of the Revolution p and in it he gives,
in compact form and with intense ex-
preston, the long prevalent and gen.
orally accepted view of the character
and civilization of the people of North
Carolina prior to and during the Rev.
olution.
| The North Carolinain who can
read the first chapter of this book with
Indifference is philosopher indeed.
Mr.. Gilmore writes very we'll and is
an enthusiast in his admiration of John
Sewer, to whom he attributes char,
acter and achievements hardly surpass-
ed by those of Washington himself.
His two books above mentioned, ex-
cite an interest equal to that produced
by, perhaps, any historical romances
since Sir Waller SCOTS, and they will
certainly tend to secure for Sewer not
only the fullest measure of Justice,
but tame which he little anticipated
when fighting the Indians and erecting
the state of Franklin beyond the mount
aims of Western North Carolina. This,
however, will be accomplished large
ly at the expense of the intelligence,
honesty and character of the Govern
ors, legislators and people of North
Carolina at that period, who, with
their predecessors, are represented to
have been the meanest, most ignorant
and most degraded population of the
colonies, and who did not, then or
during the Revolution, contribute
any person or thing of value to the
public service, except that "a small
fraction Of the population" and they
"mostly of the foreign element which
had settled in Orange, Wake and
Mecklenbvrg countless did "cast a
gleam of sunlight over the dismal his
tory of revolutionary North Caroline"
by fighting the battle of Alamance in
May, 1771, and by issuing "what is
known as the Mecklenburg Decla-
ton of Independence" which two
acts, he says. "have given North Car
olina the name as being the first of
the colonies to make organized resist
ance to British oppression while in
truth the credit belongs to but small
fraction of the people,
After asserting that "a large major
ity" of the people were "runaways
from Virgins" that they were Grim
inals,' worthless trash rem
nant or defendants of The servile
class who had in former years been
imported to work the plantations :
Englishmen to be sure, but English
men "for the most part who could trace
their lineage no farther than the pris-
ons and slums of London" and after
repeating that these "outcasts formed
, the principal element in what soor
came to beknown in the vernacular a;
the Tar Heel Commonwealth" NJ.
Gilmore says:
, From a people of such antecedent.
a model community could not be ex
, pected, and we shall see that the tree
bore its legitimate fruit, if we glanc'
| for a moment at the condition o
North Carolina at the time of the Rev
, olution."
Then, after page or two descript
/ tive of the people as 'densely igno
ran" too proud or too lazy to work
| as "lounging at taverns, drinking
: poor whiskey and gouging out eacl
). others eyes"-as Gin aspiration ant
instinct but little above the brute
and yet knowing enough to dodg
n taxes" Mr.. Gilmore says: "Lay
and religion were to them unmeanin,
TERMS" and that owing to a coars
diet and british habits, these peopl
: were poorly developed physically
. and they regarded with astonishmen
the uniformly tall and athletic over
y mountain men, who marched owe
q their wretched roads to fight the bal
> tie they should themselves hav
q q fought at Kings Mountain.
2 And finally, with a quasi judicis
/ tone, he concludes his view of tn
9 people in these words: ''Impartis
4 history has to record the fact that 6
> this period the masses OF North Care
lima were the pariahs of American SO
ciety, and the State itself little bette
than Botany Bay for the America
continent"
IF "The men who planted civilizatio
s. beyond the Alleganies," however, /
d says, "were different order ofpeople
., "Though settled ON the soil, an
q, within the jurisdiction of North Ca
le olina, they were not North Caroli
Sc ians. They were mostly Virginian
re belonging either to the gentry or
[ the sturdy Scotch-Irish and Englis
j. yeomanry who worked their own plal
e tatlons." It was true that Jam
~ Robertson led body of emigran
from Wake county over there as ca
ly as ITO, but they were all Virgi,
ut ians, too, according to Mr.. Gilmore.
II Now it is very well to denoun
1e Mr.. Gilmore as slanderer. who
er zeal in defense of Sewer has prom
IN ed him wilfully or ignorantly to liz
40 the people of North Carolina.
or certainly does slander them shamefi
ba 80,